


Eternal Gardens

by EzzyDean



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Retail, M/M, Multi, realistc retail au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 03:18:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9800486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzzyDean/pseuds/EzzyDean
Summary: Eternal Gardens Strip Mall.  Your one stop shopping place for all your needs.  The best strip mall this side of the river.  Which river, none of them are sure.  Nor are they sure what exactly is supposed to be on the other side of the river.  But it’s probably better that way.  Greener grass and all that; no matter how much the worn signs around the various shops tried to tell you different.(written for Seijoh4Week)





	1. stormy weather/long distance

Eternal Gardens Strip Mall.  Your one stop shopping place for all your needs.  The best strip mall this side of the river.  Which river, none of them are sure.  Nor are they sure what exactly is supposed to be on the other side of the river.  But it’s probably better that way.  Greener grass and all that; no matter how much the worn signs around the various shops tried to tell you different.

Right then Issei didn’t really give a shit about the mall or its unique glass roofed courtyard in the center of the strip or the random possibly fictional river or the blossoming trees or the dull sunshine coming through the large front windows of Oaky’s Discount Goods and blinding him.  He was not a morning person, hence his requests for the evening shifts, not this awake at the buttcrack of dawn bullshit.  But, apparently, the scheduled worker couldn’t make it because of an emergency.  Also apparently they forgot that they had added Issei on Snapchat therefore he can see exactly what emergency they seem to be having at the waterpark downtown.  But, Issei thinks as he swigs another mouthful of coffee from his extra large travel mug, that’s not really his concern.

His current concern is making it through the next twelve hours because he was now the only person scheduled today and their manager, or lack of one really, only cared that the store was open, not so much about whether or not the guy working the register knew jack shit about receiving and stocking new shipments or if he got a break.

As he smiles politely at the fifteenth person that hour - he’s not exaggerating he’s been counting - to remark on the nasty storm on its way he wonders just when this “quiet morning” his boss promised him is supposed to start seeing as how it is almost noon and he’s never seen this many people inside this shop before.  He regrets answering his phone last night.

“Well hello there my ray of sunshine.”

“No.”

“Rude.”  Hanamaki props his hip on the counter and rustles a bag in Issei’s face.  “And here I brought you sustenance.”

Issei eyes the bag suspiciously.  It’s from Witchy Delights and he’s pretty sure Iwaizumi is working today so its most likely his favorite sandwich made just the way he likes it.  Then again it could also be half a cookie and the butt ends of Hanamaki’s favorite sandwich waiting to disappoint him.  Again.  But hey.  Third time’s the charm.  Or something like that, right?

“Please note that I am suspicious but also too tired and hungry to care.”

“Suspicion noted.”  Hanamaki glances out the window and Issei stops him before he can even open his mouth.

“Yeah I know.  The weather sure looks bad.  Hope it doesn’t get too nasty.  Lots of rain.  Evil clouds.  Lightning ripping through the sky and starting the entire world on fire.  Whatever.  It’s a storm.”

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning.”

“One: I had to wake up before it was even morning fuck you.  Two: you would know seeing as how someone stole all my blankets and nearly kicked me out of bed.  Three: don’t try to blame Oikawa he was up before I was that asshole.”

“You know you should be nicer to me.  I brought you your favorite sandwich from our favorite sandwich maker and I brought you this.”

Hanamaki whips his phone out of his pocket and nearly shoves it in Issei’s face.  Issei nearly chokes on his sandwich - yes he’s eating at the register, no he doesn’t give a rat’s ass right now his boss can fire him if he wants to Issei’s the one pulling a double shift today thank you very much like - at the sight of Iwaizumi in a frilly pink apron wearing a panda bear ear headband with panda face paint.  He looks out the window longingly like he can maybe see the other end of the strip mall where Witchy Delights is located and see this magnificent sight in person.  He can make it there in five seconds.  Hanamaki timed him once.  Iris Prawn Shop was right next to Witchy Delights on the opposite end of the strip from Oaky’s and Hanamaki had clocked him at 4.8 seconds from one end to the other, including the time lost while he fumbled with the lock on the pawn shop door that he really should have realized was engaged seeing as how Hanamaki had spent the last twelve minutes in his lap in the beanbag chair behind the counter with his hands up Issei’s shirt and his tongue almost down Issei’s throat.  It had been a great way to spend his fifteen minute break even if he had been more distracted than usual the rest of his shift imaging all the other things they could manage to get up to in under fifteen minutes and whether or not Hanamaki did that with Oikawa or Iwaizumi when they took refuge in his shop.

“Why does he have to be all the way over there in that?  And I am stuck in this discount hellhole with you.  No offense, babe.”

“Offense slightly taken but excused cause I know I can’t beat Iwaizumi in a frilly pink apron unless I get some of that cheap ribbon you sell and come back wearing nothing but that.  Which hey, if you really want me to I’d do it cause it’s you.”

“You flatter me but you’d do it for a few corn chips and a box of cream puffs.”

“I would do a lot of things for a box of cream puffs.”

“Oh.  I know.”  Issei winks at Hanamaki and gives him a lecherous grin, licking his lips dramatically.

Which is, of course, when the door opens and a gaggle of little old ladies shuffle inside.  They barely even glance at Issei with his elbows on the counter, half eaten sandwich in one hand, Hanamaki’s phone in the other, and a lecherous look on his face.

“Do either of you boys know when that pawn shop will be open again?”  One of them asks while her companions spread out through the store.  Issei can hear them chattering on about the glass vases and the display tiny glass figures and the aisle of cheap perfumes that he dubs his own personal level of hell because of all the small delicate glass things there.

“Not a clue, ma’am,” Hanamaki answers.  “But someone should do something about it.  I swear that place is never open.  Don’t know how they manage to do any business at all.”

Issei scarfs the rest of his sandwich down, saves the cookie for later, and takes a swallow of almost cold coffee.

“It’s a shame.  I’d suggest trying again once you’re done here.  It’ll probably be open then but it’s hard to say.  I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the guy who works there asleep behind the counter.”  He stares at Hanamaki as the old lady thanks him and wanders off to find her friends - most of whom seem to be excited over something down in the kitchen utensil aisle.

Hanamaki leers back at him, leaning over the counter to pull him into a quick kiss.  “I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him doing plenty of things behind that counter and if you weren’t stuck here til close I’d invite you to see some of them.  Maybe I’ll see if Oikawa can swing a long break today.”

Thunder booms through the strip, rattling the windows, and Issei shakes his head.

“Begone little demon.  Don’t wait up for me tonight.  Not sure how long closing books will take.”

“Love you too, babe.”

The door shuts behind him and Issei watches Hanamaki jog towards the other end of the strip where his pawn shop, Iwaizumi’s sandwich shop, and Oikawa’s coffee shop, Grounds, were all located.  Some days he hated being so far away from the others even if they were still technically in the same block.

“So.”  Issei steps from the counter with a charming smile.  The visit from Hanamaki - and the lunch and picture of Iwaizumi - had refreshed him into something almost as charming as Oikawa drunk off wine.  “What can I help you young ladies with today?”


	2. note passing

Witchy Delights was the best place for sandwiches.  For at least two or three blocks.  As long as that damn sandwich truck wasn’t in the area and Hajime or Yoshikawa hadn’t had more than three days off in a row at the same time.  As one of the two shift leads and one of the top five people, management-wise, working at the shop he took a lot of pride in his job and actually enjoyed it for the most part.  He could do without the multitude of costumes and themed shop days.  But, whatever.  It brought in the customers and they made up his paycheck.

Hajime pats down his apron pockets, searching for the markers he knows he stuffed in there earlier so he could redo the white board with the afternoon specials, and hears something crinkling.  He pulls a small piece of receipt paper out with a frown.  Oikawa’s scrawled a message across it in glittery pens and Hajime’s frown deepens.  He hasn’t seen Oikawa since last night when they all went to bed and the only people who have been close enough to him to plant it all day were the guys delivering the meat and-  He rolls his eyes.  Matsukawa.  Matsukawa had shuffled in about an hour ago with his travel mug filled with his favorite extra strong coffee and gotten one of the brunch specials to go and had leaned against the counter and flirted with Hajime the entire time he was making his sandwich and bagging it up.  Much to Yoshikawa’s amusement.  He must have slipped the note in Hajime’s apron pocket when he tugged him closer to drop a goodbye kiss on the tip of his nose just to see him blush.

_Meet me in the courtyard at 1:30. Don’t be late._  The note read.  Followed by a bunch of hearts and smiley faces.

If Hajime happens to tuck the receipt into his wallet, well, no one saw him and he’ll deny it and they can pry his wallet from his back pocket at their own risk.

He jogs out of the shop at 1:28 and strolls into the courtyard at 1:29.  And promptly freezes at exactly 1:30 at the sight of Oikawa seated on a bench dappled with sunlight, head thrown back in obnoxious laughter, with Hanamaki sprawled in the grass at his feet with an easy grin on his face, and Matsukawa sitting beside him shaking his head as he chuckles and takes a long drink out of his travel mug.

“Ah,” Oikawa cries out when he spots Hajime.  “The king has finally arrived.”

“What does that make you then?  The queen?” Hajime asks.  He sits down on the bench next to Oikawa and kicks lightly at Matsukawa when he tries to grab his calf and pull him onto the ground next to him instead.

“Nope.  I’m more like your favorite consort in your harem.”

“Does it count as a harem if there are only three of us?”  Hanamaki asks.

“Does it count as a harem if I don’t actually want to sleep with any of you?”

“Ooh, ouch.”  Matsukawa tilts his head back to lean against Hajime’s knee.  “Iwaizumi asking the hard questions.”

“Heh, hard.”  Hanamaki sticks his tongue out with a grin and wiggles his eyebrows at Matsukawa.

“Thanks for catching that babe,” Matsukawa replies.  

Hajime sighs and turns his attention to Oikawa.  They only have about ten minutes together before they have to part and the last thing he needs is to get drawn in and distracted by the other two.  Oikawa notices his attention and hands half his melon bread to Hajime.

“I noticed you didn’t have anything to eat with you.  Don’t get used to it,” he says when he notices Hajime’s surprise.

Hajime eats the bread with a smile.

“Bribery,” Hanamaki calls out when he spots the crumbs on Hajime’s shirt.  He leans in close and whispers loudly to Matsukawa.  “No wonder Oikawa’s the supposed favorite.”

“And here I thought it was just cause Iwaizumi has a thing for Oikawa’s fluffy hair,” Matsukawa whispers back.

Hajime is ten minutes late back from break because Matsukawa had tackled Oikawa off his bench and started a tickle battle that Hajime had, unfortunately, lost.  But he’s with Yoshikawa today and Yoshikawa is pretty cool about it.  He only makes Hajime work the counter solo for ten minutes as punishment.  Then again he also insists that Hajime switch into the tiger ear headband and apron combo.  So.  It’s a fairly fair trade off in the end he supposes.  It was worth it to see Oikawa with grass in his hair and Hanamaki with his shirt pulled over his head and Matsukawa with half a cookie smushed across his face.


	3. aquarium date

Located about an hour away from Eternal Gardens Strip Mall was the Tail Fin Aquarium.  Boasted to be the best aquarium in the galaxy.  Boasted by whom no one can be sure.  When asked most people just shrug and make some vague mention of “them” with a far off look in their eyes.  Tooru was skeptical that anything that advertised themselves with neon green lettering on pale pink paper was really the best anything at all.  But that wasn’t the point.  The point was that it was an aquarium that wasn’t an entire day trip away and Iwaizumi Hajime loved aquariums.

Hence the plan to surprise him with an aquarium date at Tail Fin.

The problem with an aquarium date, Tooru had decided rather quickly, was that said date required money and all four of them to manage to have the same day off at the same time.  The money was doable with all of them pitching in.  The days off less so.  Tooru and Hanamaki usually didn’t have much trouble getting whatever time off they wanted.  Matsukawa and Iwaizumi, on the other hand… Well Matsukawa’s boss was being an ass about any time off that isn’t for a medical reason and Iwaizumi was picking up extra shifts for Yoshikawa because of some family thing happening with his sister.

Which is why Tooru is setting up a sheet next to the fountain out near the big ‘Eternal Gardens Strip Mall’ sign just off the road while Matsukawa and Iwaizumi are busy with their evening shifts.  If they can’t go to the aquarium then the aquarium will, more or less, come to them.

Hanamaki jogs up to Tooru with a grin plastered on his face and his borrowed projector tucked under his arm.

“Okay,” he whispers conspiratorially.  “As long as its back inside by the time the shop opens tomorrow no one will know.”  One of the apparent perks of working in a pawn shop, or so Matsukawa said when he did stuff like this, was the ability to borrow and test out the stuff people pawned off.  Even if Tooru was pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to work that way.  But what did he know, he mentally shrugs.  He just makes coffee for a living.

Tooru glances at him and they both start giggling with excitement as they spread out the rest of the stuff from Tooru’s bag.

“Matsukawa said he’d bring Iwaizumi over after their shifts were done.  So we have about ten minutes.”

“I can’t wait,” Tooru replies.  He settles himself on the edge of the fountain and runs his fingers through the water.  “It’s been forever since the four of us went on a date.  Making out in the courtyard for ten minutes or shoving donuts in each other’s mouths on the way to work in the mornings don’t count,” he adds before Hanamaki can even open his mouth.

“No one crams a donut into my mouth more romantically and lovingly than you do, Boo.”

“Thanks, love.”

Matsukawa’s shout catches their attention and Tooru watches his boyfriends stroll across the nearly empty parking lot.  The sunset sky makes a beautiful backdrop for their strong figures and he thinks that maybe he’s falling a little bit in love with them all over again when Matsukawa says something and Iwaizumi laughs and nearly manages to shove him into a light pole.

“What’s this?”  Iwaizumi gestures to the setup and Tooru puts on his best announcer voice.

“Feast your eyes on the Eternal Gardens Aquarium of Lights.”  He gestures to the white sheet staked up in front of the fountain and Hanamaki flicks the switch on the projector and fish filled water springs to life thanks to the app on Tooru’s phone.

Iwaizumi’s eyes go wide as he watches fish swim back and forth across the makeshift projector screen, the sound of water flowing provided conveniently by the fountain behind it.  He lets out a soft amazed laugh and looks around at them.

“What’s the occasion?”

“You are,” Tooru states.

“What?” Iwaizumi whispers.

Matsukawa wraps his arms around Iwaizumi’s waist and pulls him down onto the blanket on the ground so that he’s sitting in Matsukawa’s lap and staring up at the watery view.  His eyes flicker to them but keep sliding back to the images flickering around on the sheet.  Really he shouldn’t be allowed to be so adorable.  None of them should be.  Matsukawa with his dumb oversized hoodie and messy hair.  Hanamaki with his ridiculously in love smile and ugly snapback.  Iwaizumi with his Witchy Delights polo shirt and that look of absolute wonder and joy on his face.  It was unfair, really.

“We’re taking you to the aquarium,” Hanamaki declares as he drops onto the blanket next to them.  “Or, well, you know.  Our version of an aquarium.”

Iwaizumi lets out a delighted laugh and shakes his head when Tooru pulls out a bag filled with snacks and a couple bottles of their favorite cheap sodas.

“Now,” Tooru says as he joins them on the blanket, “prepare yourself for a night filled with the wonders of the underwater world.”


	4. anniversary

Some days Iris Prawn Shop is almost as much of a mess and a meme and a joke and a contradiction as the man with his feet up on the counter and a bright green vest with the shop’s name sewn on and Volume 16 of the Encyclopedia Britannica (Napoleon to Ozonolysis) open on his lap.  Some days it’s just a pawn shop with the weird things that people are willing to, or need to, hawk for cash and very few questions.  It’s not too often that someone actually comes in to buy anything and it’s even rarer that someone comes to buy something back.  Even with that fact in mind there’s always somehow room for more things to be bought and the lights are always on and the paycheck is deposited in Takahiro’s account every week.

The metal windchimes hanging from the door handle tinkle merrily and he calls out a greeting, feet still up on the counter and book still open (he’s only about six entries past Napoleon after all), shivering a little at the cool breeze that sweeps into the store.  A paper bag rustles and drops heavily onto the counter next to his feet and he peers at it from over the edge of the encyclopedia.  The bright bold lettering of Baker’s Dozen (And Then Some) stares back at him.  His favorite bakery located twenty minutes away.  Which means he’s either being bribed or getting apologized to for something.

“What is that for?”  He shifts his gaze to Iwaizumi; almost definitely getting bribed.  Iwaizumi doesn’t use baked goods for apologies.

Iwaizumi frowns and Takahiro has to tighten his grip on his book to keep from leaping across the counter and pressing a kiss to the wrinkle in Iwaizumi’s brow.  It’s difficult having so many adorable boyfriends in his life.

“What are you reading?”

“Encyclopedia.  Volume 16, Napoleon to Ozonolysis.”

“Why are you reading volume 16 an encyclopedia?”

“For funsies.  Also because I can’t find volume 15 so I had to skip it.”  Takahiro stares pointedly at the bag on the counter.  “Now answer my question.”

“It’s our anniversary.”

Takahiro stares at Iwaizumi like he’s got about three extra hands and at least one more head than normal.  “No it’s not.  It’s not snowing out therefore it is nowhere near our anniversary.”

“Yes it is,” he replies.  Then he steps around the counter and flops onto the beanbag that Takahiro has set up just for his boyfriends.  Takahiro’s eyes dart from the bag on the counter down to Iwaizumi and back a few times before he slides a flier for Tail Fin Aquarium into place as a bookmark and shuts the encyclopedia.

“Okay.  I’ll bite.  What anniversary are we celebrating?”  He reaches over and ruffles Iwaizumi’s hair.  It was one of his favorite things to do because Iwaizumi rarely used anything other than shampoo in his hair and it was spiky and soft like a decorative pillow and Takahiro likes to buries his face in that hair and just pretend the world is a good place for awhile sometimes.  “Our first kiss?  Our first attempt at holding hands?  Or first double date?  Our first double dare?  Our first-”

“The first time you told me you loved me.  And meant it as something other than a casual jokey thing.”

“-oh.”

Takahiro gives in to his urge to fling himself down onto Iwaizumi’s lap so he can cover his boyfriend’s face in kisses, ignoring the dramatic pained noise Iwaizumi makes only because Iwaizumi is smiling into his kisses and wrapping his arms around Takahiro’s waist and pulling him close lazily, like he doesn’t have a care in the world.  Takahiro might mumble something about Iwaizumi’s shift at Witchy Delights but he can’t be entirely sure because Iwaizumi finally presses their lips together and Takahiro loses time.  Literally.  They might make out for five minutes or a half an hour before Takahiro finally pulls back and sucks in a deep breath.

“I do love you.”  His voice is shaky even to his own ears and he peels his eyes open to watch the pleased blush filling Iwaizumi’s cheeks.  “Happy Anniversary. Hajime.”

“Happy Anniversary, Takahiro.”

“Happy Whatever to me,” Oikawa croons at them as he leans over the counter and leers down at them, Matsukawa pressed against his side and munching on a pastry from the paper bag on the counter.  “No no,” he adds when Iwaizumi glares up at him.  “Don’t stop on my account.  I actually made sure the door was locked, unlike you two.  Please continue.”

“Well if you insist.”  Takahiro winks up at them and buries his hands in Iwaizumi’s soft hair.  “Don’t mind if I do,” he murmurs against Iwaizumi’s lips.


	5. moving in together

Just inside the glass roofed courtyard of Eternal Gardens is a bulletin board protected from the elements by a locked glass front.  The lock’s been busted for a couple years now and no one can really decide who should pay to fix it so anyone can swing the door open and tack up a flier.  There are advertisements for local businesses, business cards, assorted news clippings, and even a paper airplane tacked to the board.  Much like no one being able to decide who should pay for the broken lock, no one can agree on who should keep the board clear of old fliers (in all honesty how anything is maintained in the entire strip is a mystery that may never be solved).  Someone could dig through the layers and archive years worth of sales and help wanted ads and local businesses that are already nothing more than empty buildings collecting dust.

The corner of a faded purple flier catches Hajime’s eye as he passes the board on his way to work and he pauses, finishing off his text to Oikawa about remembering to _please_ take the garbage out because the kitchen smelled worse than a locker room before stepping closer to the board.  He carefully extracts the page, giving up and just tearing it off near the top corner when he nearly unpins an entire stack of business cards trying to get it out, and sure enough it’s exactly what he thought it was.  The exact same flier he had picked up from this same spot a few years ago.

 

_Two young nubile teens looking for two roommates of similar status._

_Must enjoy monster movies, sugary foods, memes, and paying bills in a timely manner._

_Text Hanamaki or Matsukawa but don’t text Matsukawa before noon or he might kill you._

_Don’t text Hanamaki between eleven and three because his soaps are on._

_If you know Matsukawa’s mom let her know he’s still alive despite all of Hanamaki’s attempts at cooking._

Hajime still isn’t entirely sure what possessed him to text the number on the bottom of the flier when he spotted it.  Other than being a broke twenty-one year old needing a place to live that was, hopefully, not too far from the job he had just been offered at the sandwich shop in the strip mall.  Hanamaki had seemed decent enough through text and Hajime remembers how nervous he had been to actually stop at the apartment to check it out and meet them; seeming decent through text did not mean he wasn’t a serial killer or something.  For crying out loud he used the word ‘nubile’ in the ad after all.  

But Hajime had sighed to himself and knocked on the door.  Matsukawa had answered the door groggily in a pair of dog print pajama pants, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, and nothing else.  Hanamaki had started swearing from the kitchen and the smell of something burning had Hajime rushing into the apartment even as he introduced himself and apologized for intruding.  He had saved Hanamaki from being burnt to a crisp though the same couldn’t be said for whatever he had been attempting to fry up on the stove.  Hajime had growled a little as he set the pan in the sink to soak and turned to scold Hanamaki for being so careless.  Hanamaki grinned at him and asked if Hajime wanted to take him out for lunch since he was a less than stellar cook.  Hajime had moved in three days later and, a month or so after that, he had suggested Oikawa as their fourth roommate when Oikawa had wound up needing to get out of his current place fast.  

That had been the start of an amazing friendship and an even more amazing relationship between the four of them and for every day he that isn’t sure how he manages to live with any of them so fully entangled in his life there are a dozen days where he can’t even begin to imagine living without them there.


	6. different kisses shared among them

Tucked at the end down past Oaky’s Discount Goods, Eternal Gardens boasts a one of a kind unique movie-going experience.  It really isn’t all that unique but that doesn’t stop the boasting.  Nothing really stops the boasting when it comes to Eternal Gardens Strip Mall and the businesses located within.  Unique or not you had to be lucky to catch a movie at Jokes On You Theater.  Mostly because there was no real schedule to the movies and no set times for when the place would be open.  Oikawa had a theory about it that involved algebra, aliens, and copious use of the word theoretically.  Takahiro just figured that the lady who ran the theater was probably related to the guy who owned Iris Prawn and they made whatever hours they felt like, possibly using a dart board and a pair of dice.

“Hey babe,” Matsukawa calls out.  He hurries up to the counter with a grin on his face that normally means he and Takahiro are going to do something dumb and potentially get in trouble with the other half of their Love Square (copyright pending, name courtesy of Iwaizumi’s mother).

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”  He was sure that Matsukawa had a shift at three that afternoon and when he glances down at the clock on his phone it reads 2:51.

Matsukawa hums and braces himself on the counter with one hand.  “Pucker up.”  He wiggles his eyebrows and looks up.  Takahiro follows the look and spots a sprig of plastic mistletoe dangling from Matsukawa’s fingers.

“It’s March,” Takahiro states but leans forward anyway.  Like he’d ever say no to kisses from one of his loves.

Matsukawa sighs against his lips.  “What I wouldn’t give to be able to just say to hell with work and stay here with you all day.”

“Trust me.  I know that feel.  But bills must be paid and food needs to be bought and Iwaizumi already threatened me with bathroom duty for a month if one of us doesn’t bring home groceries soon.”

Matsukawa kisses him again and jogs out of the shop with a wave.

Takahiro doesn’t really think much of it until an hour or so later when Oikawa strolls in with a bouquet of flowers.  They’re fake flowers but the expensive kind of fake that are so vibrant they look real.  He presents it to Takahiro with a flourish and a smile so wide and happy that Takahiro feels his stomach flutter.  (In his defense it has been awhile since Oikawa has turned that wattage smile on and directed it to Takahiro.)  He takes the flowers with a confused smile and leans into the kiss that Oikawa plants on his cheek, not even bothering to try to tame the blush he can feel threatening to crawl across his cheeks.  He’s too pale to hide it after all.

“What’s the occasion?” he asks when Oikawa leans back and props his elbows on the counter.  He sets the flowers under the counter next to his jacket while Oikawa watches.  Thankfully the smile has been turned down from something mega-watt levels into a sappy version.  It doesn’t make the flutters in his stomach stop.  If anything they increase with the sappy smile but at least he can look directly at Oikawa now.

“Just because,” Oikawa replies with a shrug.  “I saw them and thought of you so I got them.  And they’re fake so your allergies won’t try to kill you and so you can keep them forever.”

“That’s especially thoughtful of you.  Thank you.”  Takahiro tries not to sound suspicious though he’s pretty sure he fails because Oikawa laughs and reaches over to ruffle his hair.

Oikawa hovers and talks for a few more minutes before he whines and pouts at Takahiro about having to go back to work.  He pulls Takahiro close to kiss the tip of his nose before he leaves with a love you and a promise of meeting after work tossed back to Takahiro.

Something familiar tugs at him.  Something about the mistletoe and the flowers and the kisses but he can’t quite put his finger on it.  He knows they’re connected somehow but he can’t remember why or how.

He is completely sure they are related when he closes up the shop for the day and Iwaizumi is waiting outside, standing in the light of the setting sun dressed like some sort of prince, complete with sash, cloak, and delicate crown upon his head.  Iwaizumi gives Takahiro a smile that warms him from head to toe and bows deeply when Takahiro turns around from locking the door.  He reaches out and takes Takahiro’s hand, bringing it to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of it.  He stares up at Takahiro through his lashes and turns his hand over to leave a warm kiss on his palm before he finally straightens with his smile still in place.

Takahiro can only blink stupidly as he lets Iwaizumi pull him across the parking lot.

That familiar something or other starts to swim into focus and then it’s gone when he spots Matsukawa and Oikawa waiting for them outside the movie theater.

He doesn’t even remember what movie they went to see because he spends most of it being kissed by one of his boyfriends or another.  Which, really, isn’t that much of a loss in his book.  He can always rent the movie later if he really wants to see it.  For now he’ll keep the memories of Iwaizumi’s cloak dropping over their heads while Iwaizumi pulled him in for playful kisses during the action scenes and the sticky sweet press of Oikawa’s lips to his during the previews and Matsukawa stopping each time he had to get up for something and slip past them to “pay the toll” of three kisses per pass in place of memories of the movie itself.

Oikawa tugs him into the middle of the street on the walk home and nearly topples Takahiro onto the cement when he stops suddenly and pulls Takahiro into yet another kiss, this one soft and sweet and lingering, one hand against the back of Takahiro’s neck and the other, presumably, flipping Matsukawa off when he starts whistling obnoxiously at them.  Iwaizumi peels Oikawa away so he can take Oikawa’s place and pulls Takahiro into a dizzying kiss that leaves him panting by the time Iwaizumi steps back.  Iwaizumi holds out his hand and Takahiro takes it.

“My prince,” he teases, glad to see the blush on Iwaizumi’s cheeks in the starlight.

It’s when he and Matsukawa are curled together in their bed that it becomes clear.  Mostly because Matsukawa hands him an old wrinkled piece of paper with a list written on it in purple crayon.

_Kisses I Want From My Lover_

_1\. Kiss under mistletoe_

_2\. Kiss after getting flowers_

_3\. Kiss on the hand from a prince_

_4\. Kiss during a movie_

_5\. Kiss under the stars_

_6\. Kiss goodnight_

He had been seven and obsessed with lists.  He had made them for everything from his top ten favorite foods to the order he got ready for bed to the number of times his mother said she loved him in a week.

“I can not believe… Where did you even find this?”

“Your mom found it in with some old pictures or something and gave it to me a couple weeks ago when she stopped by and you were at work.”

“And you all planned-”  Takahiro swallows thickly at the rush of emotion that surges up before he jumps out of bed, runs across the hallway, and flings himself into Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s bed to pepper their faces with kisses and squeeze the life out of them with hugs.  When he comes back to his own bed he’s calmer but the emotion claws at his throat as he curls into Matsukawa’s side and drops a hand to his chest.

Matsukawa’s laughter is a rumbly thing under his palm and he pouts and grumbles as Matsukawa kisses bends to kiss his forehead.

“Goodnight my lover,” Matsukawa whispers against his skin.  “I love you.”

“Love you too,” Takahiro whispers back.


	7. comfort

If you can manage to draw your attention away from the grandeur that is Eternal Gardens Strip Mall and look across the often potholed road with its perpetually faded paint and lackluster median you can feast your eyes upon the wonder of The End of the World.  The End of the World, of course, is an affordable roadside motel that offers all the comforts of home; if your home consists of two full sized beds with scratchy sheets and thin foamy feeling comforters and two flat pillows per bed, one well placed but low wattage lamp, an empty dresser with an outdated television sitting on it, and an awkwardly tiny bathroom with low water pressure and extremely thin towels that is.

“Really?” Tooru scoffs when Iwaizumi unlocks the door and they all peek inside.  “No wonder they always have rooms available here.”

“I don’t care,” Matsukawa hisses, teeth chattering as he presses them forward.  “There’s a freaking blizzard and I am cold and soaked.  Move your ass so I can get inside the room please.”

It could be worse, Tooru admits as he knocks on the heater a few times to get it to actually start kicking out hot air while Matsukawa strips off his wet clothes and Iwaizumi attempts to coax hot water from the shower head.  They could actually be stuck out in the storm somewhere.  Or stuck somewhere alone.  Or still be at work.  He sniffs the air a few times and eyes the heater warily as it spews out mostly warm but somewhat questionable smelling air.  Hopefully it’s just stale smelling from disuse.  A fire in the middle of a blizzard is a bit too much for him to handle today.

A flash of skin darts past him as Matsukawa retreats to the bathroom and slams the door shut behind him.  One of his pant legs smacks Tooru in the cheek, courtesy of Hanamaki who is holding all of Matsukawa’s damp clothes in his arms.  By the time he and Tooru have everything hanging up as best as they can Iwaizumi is back out of the bathroom and digging through his backpack.  Of course he’s the only one of them to be even remotely prepared for this.  Tooru had been too busy rushing out that morning to check the weather and Hanamaki avoided looking at the weather forecast like it was some sort of plague.  Matsukawa had managed to make it all the way to work only to discover that his manager never even showed up to open the store that morning and had then proceeded to stomp into Grounds for a hot chocolate and to seethe in his damp clothes for twenty minutes until Tooru’s shift ended and they could head over to Witchy Delights and decide what to do from there.

“I left him in there cursing his manager and wishing some kind of demonic plague upon their house,” Iwaizumi says.  He hands Tooru a change of clothes and gestures towards the bathroom.  “Do your smooth talking thing and try to calm him down a little?  Hanamaki and I will run back across the street and get some food now that we know we’re staying here for tonight.”

“Only if I get to borrow Oikawa’s scarf,” Hanamaki replies.  “It’s like fifty feet long and made of magic.”

“Go ahead.  But if you touch me with your cold hands or nose or anything when you get back I will use its magic to strangle you.”

Hanamaki grins at him and pulls his coat back on.  “Deal.”

Tooru waits a couple more minutes after they leave before he cracks open the bathroom door and peeks inside.

“I’m not gonna bite,” Matsukawa says sulkily.  “You can come in.”  The tub is half full of mostly warm water and the bathroom is fairly steamy and it’s actually pretty comfortable in there as Tooru settles himself on the toilet seat with Iwaizumi’s spare clothes in his lap.  He has an apology on the tip of his tongue - for not knowing the store was closed, for not telling Matsukawa to just stay home, for not being able to control the weather, for a dozen other small pointless things - but swallows it when Matsukawa sighs rolls his head to the side to stare at Tooru through half closed eyes.

“Hey,” Tooru whispers.

“Hey.”  Matsukawa holds out a damp hand and Tooru tangles their fingers together.  “Why did I even get out of bed this morning?”

Tooru squeezes his hand and snickers at him.  “Because I made pancakes.  And then you went back to bed because, I quote, fuck this AM shit wake me when it’s PM.”

“You make really good pancakes babe.”

“Thank you.”

Tooru forgets what he’s saying even as the words are coming out of his mouth but it doesn’t matter much.  By the time the other two get back he’s got Matsukawa out of the bathroom and curled up with him under the cheap sheets, laughing at Tooru’s story about the lady who insisted he “look in back” for the coffee they had been out of for two days and then claimed she was going to report him to his manager for “withholding a paying customer’s standing order” from her.  To which Tooru had replied by pointing to the other end of the counter where his manager was running the register and promptly declaring he was taking his break.

Iwaizumi and Hanamaki hand over thermoses of hot soup and travel mugs of hot chocolate in between tugging off gloves and coats and scarves and Iwaizumi leaves some cold medicine on the small nightstand between the beds just in case Matsukawa starts feeling sick.  Tooru doesn’t quite understand how they manage to fit all four of them on one full size bed.  But they do and he’s content to be squished between Hanamaki and Matsukawa as the afternoon slowly trudges into evening and the blizzard rages on outside their room.

Really, despite the circumstances, there’s no place he’d rather be than tangled up under blankets with his three favorite people in the world.  Luckily they seem to feel the same way.


End file.
